Mirror sets out to spot cannons from a bygone era, which dot the city but are mostly hidden in plain view

Last month, the new director of the state government's Di rectorate of Archaeology and Museums, Dr Tejas Garge, urged Mumbaikars to inform him about the whereabouts of old cannons in the city. Garge estimates that there could be as many as 250 cannons in Mumbai, which can be preserved and used for public display.Mumbai Mirror set out to find some of these hidden cannons with Bharat Gothoskar, founder of Khaki Tours, and Vinayak Talwar, a volunteer heritage walker.

Like many hidden heritage monuments in the city, many cannons are located in plain sight but people hardly notice them. The first cannon on the trail is hidden behind Bhandari Street police chowky right outside Masjid railway station. Walking into a narrow bylane, Vinayak points to a small shrine made of blue tiles. What looks like a shivling is actually an iron cannon. “Someone has built this small temple around the cannon and people think it's a shivling. But this way, at least it's protected,“ Vinayak explains.

As we walk further into the lane, we see a lot of construction work going on. Sewage pipes are leaking and tonnes of garbage are lying around the busy lane. Covered in cement, there are two cannons on the ground, roughly 3 feet in length.Gothoskar explains that the cannons were placed here probably in the 1850s and served as bollards. “They are made of iron and placed here as bollards. They weren't here for any military purpose. They were more of markers and people probably tied their horses around them too,“ Gothoskar says.

According to Gothoskar's research and insights from local historians, the cannons were placed to mark the end of the `white town' where the British lived. Beyond the cannons, Indians were allowed to construct their houses and carry out business activities.

Usurped by shops

The next stop on the cannon trail is at the entrance of Nagdevi Street, opposite Crawford Market. As we look around, Vinayak spots one. It's almost entirely buried and painted white.A small shop has almost usurped the cannon. There are two cannons placed at the entrance of the narrow road. Both equally buried and taken over by small shops. As we try and peer at the cannons, shop owners give us curious looks, trying to understand what we are looking at, oblivious of the piece of history near them.

Talwar points out that there isn't much research about these cannons.“There is a fair amount of research done on the milestones and fountains but nothing about cannons. We had to ask a lot of old timers to find out
their exact locations. Many have been painted red, and most people think they are water hydrants,“ said Talwar, an HR professional turned heritage walker.

The next one is at Sarang Street, right outside the popular Sadanand restaurant. The cannon can hardly be seen as the marble entrance of the eatery seems to gobble it up.Gothoskar explains that the cannons have been here much before Crawford Market was constructed. “This was all open space. An Esplanade actually means open space by the sea. Beyond the cannons, the demography changes. From Victorian buildings, the landscape changes to small buildings and chawls. They were occupied by the trading community, consisting of Gujaratis, Marwaris, Maharashtrians and the Kolis,“ says Gothoskar.

Talwar says that the area behind the cannons was referred to as `Black
Bombay', but was a kaleidoscope of communities that had arrived from all over the world and settled here.“However, the people at the Fort wanted to ensure that they remained at a distance and placed limit stones on the southern boundary of the native town along the Esplanade Cross Road which later came to be known as Carnac Road and is now called Lokmanya Tilak Marg,“ Talwar says.

Shiny silver cannon

As we head onto Lokmanya Tilak Marg, we spot two more cannons before we head inside the LT Marg police station. This was the only place where the cannons took pride of place. One of them is painted bright silver and is fixed on a small cart which helps the staff move it around.One of the constables tells us that they pray at the cannon and even gar
land it sometimes. Another cannon is painted white, camouflaged with the white walls.

Next to the police station, a cobbler was using one of the cannons like a pillow. “I know this is something historical but I don't know what it is.People say they used to tie ships here when there was the sea here. I've been seeing the cannon here for over 30 years,“ says Bhavri Chaudhary.

An old fruit seller then took us to her shanty outside the Small Causes Court. She lifted one of the plastic sheets to show us a cannon, and then asked us to leave her alone.

The last stop on our trail is near Metro cinema junction, also referred to as Dhobi Talao. A nearly-buried cannon is peeking out from the footpath. “This one can't be seen in the day. The shutters from the wine shop next door cover it.So if you want to spot this one, you
have to come before 9 am,“ says Gothoskar.

Need for preservation

Gothoskar will soon curate a cannon spotting tour through Khaki Tours.“We hope we can discover more cannons. They are relics that are lying around unnoticed. They should be preserved at the same spot since it's their location that makes them special and historical,“ says Gothoskar, who is a pioneer in local history tourism.

“It is unfortunate that these relics that are centuries old are exposed to the harsh conditions of this city and are slowly being buried deeper into the ground as the city creates layers and layers of pavements. While the protection of these artefacts is a must, awareness comes first and that can only be done by the people of this city,“ Talwar concludes, as we wrap up the hour-long cannon-spotting trail.